Why are the human sex chromosomes called “X” and “Y,” while the other 22 chromosomes are identified only by numbers? The answer begins in the late 1800s, when insect gonad cells, whose large ...

Instead of having two copies of each chromosome, as is typical for normal cells, the cancer cells had anywhere from one to as many as five or six copies; and sometimes there were parts of chromosomes ...

Chances are you've seen an illustration of DNA's double-helix structure and even pictures of the chromosomes that make up the human genome. But where and how does the famous double helix fit into ...

Gametes contain half as many chromosomes as the other cells in the organism, and each gamete is genetically unique because the DNA of the parent cell is shuffled before the cell divides.

Females (XX) carry twice as many X-linked genes on their sex chromosomes as males (XY). How do cells control gene expression to manage this potentially lethal dosage problem? A prime example of X ...

By looking at the differences between Y chromosomes in the Cohanim, researchers can estimate roughly how many generations ago members of the priesthood had a common ancestor. Remarkably ...